India-China: Forging ‘Development Partnership’? – Analysis

Buoyed by the ‘Wuhan Spirit’ and ‘Shanghai Spirit’, China and India are “willing” to “consolidate” their “closer development partnership”. In the near-term, their willingness, expressed on 26 July 2018, is likely to be tested at the Group of Twenty (G20) summit in Buenos Aires beginning on 30 November 2018.

But even as the two Asian giants attempt to reach out to each other, the geopolitical context is changing as emerging trade tensions between the United States and China are threatening to worsen into a trade war that could suck in almost all other countries, including India.

The G20 Opportunity

‘Wuhan Spirit’ is named after the city in China where Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a candid “informal summit” on 27 and 28 April 2018, a positive step in the often-chequered Sino-Indian relations.

‘Shanghai Spirit’ reflects the target of economic and security partnership among members of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) founded by China and Russia. India joined SCO as a full-fledged member at the organisation’s summit in Qingdao (China) on 9 June 2018. Read More